Last edited: December 11, 2004


Approved Press Statement on the Rejection of Snowball.04 Application

Singapore Police Force, December 8, 2004
Public Affairs Department
Police News Release

On 20 Oct 2004, Police received an application from Jungle Media Pte Ltd for a public entertainment licence to organize an indoor party at the former Warehouse Disco. The party, to be known as SnowBall.04, was planned to be held from 9pm on 25 Dec 2004 to 6am 26 Dec 2004.

After careful consideration, Police have rejected the application. Police’s assessment is that the event is likely to be organized as a gay party which is contrary to public interest in general.

Jungle Media Pte Ltd was the same company which organized the Nation.04 events this year. These included an indoor Opening Ball at Suntec, an outdoor party on Sentosa, and a Closing Party at Zouk. Jungle Media was also the same organizer for previous Nation events on Sentosa. Despite the organiser’s assurance to the Police and the public that these events were not organized as gay parties, the Police note that:

a) The promotion materials were widely advertised on fridae.com, a known gay portal;

b) Observations during the Indoor Opening Ball at Suntec showed the patrons of the same gender were seen openly kissing and intimately touching each other. Some of the revelers were cross-dressed, for example, males wearing skirts. Patrons were also seen using the toilets of the opposite sex. The behaviour of these patrons suggested that most of them were probably gays/lesbians and this was thus an event almost exclusively for gays/lesbians;

c) A number of couples of the same sex were seen hugging and kissing in public after the event almost exclusively for gays/lesbians;

d) Several letters of complaint were received from some patrons about the openly gay acts at the Ball.

The above were taken into consideration in rejecting the application for a public entertainment licence for snowball.04.

The Police recognize that there are some Singaporeans with gay tendencies. While Police do not discriminate against them on this basis, the Police also recognize that Singapore is still, by and large, a conservative and traditional society. Hence, the Police cannot approve any application for an event which goes against the moral values of a large majority of Singaporeans. Future applications for events of similar nature will be closely scrutinized.



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